Going, but never to be forgotten...
'So now we know for sure - there will certainly be no going back on this.
Schumacher, who has dominated Formula One for years, the most successful driver in history and the man who is probably disliked by many more people around the world than those who adore him, will compete in three more races this year and then walk away.
'The word legend is used in sport too loosely these days, but whatever your feelings about him, Schumacher is one of them. His leaving marks the end of an era in motor racing that he has defined by his mere presence. So many wins, so many pole positions, so many fastest laps, so many defeated opponents, most of whom have long since disappeared into the sunset - and two or three awful moments that let him down in 16 years behind the wheel at the highest level.
'His absence will leave a chasm in the heart of the sport -
Edward Gorman, The Times.
'As a pure driving talent, he is up there among the greats, but, as he admits privately, he has rarely had a driver of his own level to race against.
'With the arrival of Kimi Raïkkönen at Ferrari, Schumacher has chosen this moment to make his exit rather than face the ignominy of being thumped by the younger men. It is the first time that Schumacher has ducked a challenge -
James Allen, The Times.
'The truth, it could not have been more evident yesterday, is that Schumacher is going out precisely as he came in - a driver of genius and absolute nerve and one for whom such considerations as the welfare of his rivals, even if they included his brother Ralf, were utterly secondary to his greatest, indeed at times it seemed, his only imperative: the one to win' -
James Lawton, The Independent.
'But the very fact that as many people loathed him as loved him made him both hero and villain, and brought a massive intangible benefit to the sport via his global superstardom.
'Like Senna before him, Schumacher was flawed, but he will be remembered as a genius nevertheless -
David Tremayne, The Independent.
'In the end he overstayed his welcome by a year, maybe two. Had Michael Schumacher chosen to retire at the end of 2004, with the laurel wreath from a seventh world title round his neck, he would not have left the world with the memory of that creepy expression of bogus innocence as he attempted to explain away his inexcusable behaviour during the final qualifying session at Monaco. No other world champion resorted to such cheap tactics -
Richard Williams, The Guardian.
'So a career that started in a kart knocked together by his father, Rolf, in the nondescript Rhineland outpost of Kerpen, edged inexorably towards what could yet be a glorious end. This is how the great should go, on top, still rattling the bones of their fiercest rivals.
One recalls the tearful exit of Andre Agassi at Flushing Meadows a week ago, of Jack Nicklaus taking his leave of St Andrews in 2005, sporting giants both, but neither winners any longer. At 37, Schumacher is as good if not better than the earlier vintage that dominated for five successive years from 2000 -
Kevin Garside, The Daily Telegraph.